space mission

If you wanted to design and fly a robotic spacecraft on a 9-year voyage 3 billion miles from Earth, the farthest journey of exploration our species has ever attempted, HOW WOULD YOU DO IT?

Dr. Alan Stern is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission, leading NASA’s exploration of the Pluto system and the Kuiper Belt. A planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant and author, he has participated in over two dozen scientific space missions. Dr. Stern is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2016 Carl Sagan Memorial Award of the American Astronautical Society, and has twice been named to the Time 100.

In this episode, Dr. Stern discusses his new book, “Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto”, including details on both successes and struggles during the mission, and upcoming plans to awaken the New Horizons spacecraft from hibernation in June through preparations for its rendezvous with Kuiper Belt object MU69 on New Year's Day 2019.